KUAT-TV explained

Callsign:KUAT-TV
Logo Alt:The lowercase letters a z p m in blue. The a is single-story and has a yellow ring around it, part of which is a segment with three ring segments suggesting a signal.
Branding:PBS 6; AZPM
Digital:30 (UHF)
Virtual:6
Translators:K20GG-D Duncan
Location:Tucson, Arizona
Country:United States
Callsign Meaning:University of Arizona Television[1]
Former Callsigns:KUAT (1959–1967)
Former Channel Numbers:Analog: 6 (VHF, 1959–2009)
Owner:University of Arizona
Licensee:Arizona Board of Regents for the benefit of the University of Arizona
Erp:667.5 kW
Haat:1092.10NaN0
Facility Id:2731
Coordinates:32.4154°N -110.7151°W
Licensing Authority:FCC
Embed Header:Satellite station
Embedded:
Child:yes
Callsign:KUAS-TV
Digital:28 (UHF)
Virtual:27
Location:Tucson, Arizona (Tumamoc Hill)
Country:United States
Owner:University of Arizona
Licensee:Arizona Board of Regents for the benefit of the University of Arizona
Erp:50 kW
Haat:177.90NaN0
Facility Id:2722
Coordinates:32.2148°N -111.0065°W
Licensing Authority:FCC

KUAT-TV (channel 6) is a PBS member television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is the television station of the University of Arizona (UA) and broadcasts from studios in the Modern Languages Building on the UA campus. Two high-power transmitters broadcast its programming: KUAT-TV itself on Mount Bigelow and KUAS-TV (channel 27) on Tumamoc Hill, west of downtown Tucson, which provides coverage to northwest Tucson and communities west of Mount Lemmon that are shielded from the Mount Bigelow transmitter. There is also a translator in Duncan. KUAT-TV and the UA's radio stations, KUAT-FM and KUAZ, are grouped under the unified brand of Arizona Public Media (AZPM).

KUAT-TV is the oldest public television station in the state, beginning broadcasts in 1959. In addition to airing national PBS and public television programming, it produces several local shows focusing on southern Arizona life and issues.

History

Tucson had been allocated noncommercial educational channel 6 in 1952, but it was not until 1958 that the UA prepared an application to build a television station to use it. It proposed to initially broadcast two hours a night, five nights a week.[2] The university had already remodeled Herring Hall to house radio and television studios,[3] with the latter occupying a space once used as part of a gymnasium and auditorium.[4] Filed on April 3, the application and permit were granted on July 16, sending $40,000 of Ford Foundation monies the university's way to begin construction.[5] After the university rejected the first two bids for the job as too high and re-bid the task out,[6] [7] the tower was erected in November to support the antenna for the new station;[8] while that happened, the university made its first telecast—a closed-circuit event in which a pharmacology class watched a demonstration of blood pressure techniques.[9]

The first test pattern went out on February 6,[10] and KUAT launched on March 8, 1959, as the first public television station in Arizona.[11] It was an affiliate of National Educational Television (NET), forerunner to PBS, from 1959 through 1970, when PBS replaced NET.[12] In addition to university programs, the Tucson Unified School District was part of its operation, with a weekly show summarizing school activities.[13] That fall, the first daytime educational broadcasts were made, consisting of university classes.[14]

In 1964, the university prepared an expansion of the initial anemic facility, which had an effective radiated power of just 944 watts. The university applied to move its transmitter to Tumamoc Hill, which would increase coverage from a 21miles to a 65miles radius, and new studios were planned in the forthcoming Modern Languages Building.[15] The Federal Aviation Administration approved the tower site,[16] but the university decided to relocate its main transmitter to Mount Bigelow, already in use by the three commercial stations in town, after protests from the Air Line Pilots Association over the proximity of the mast to the Tucson International Airport.[17] The new studios and transmitter would be color-capable.[18] The Arizona Board of Regents approved the plans in April 1967,[19] and color transmission from the new studios and transmitter began on October 1, 1968.[20] In preparation, K71BQ, a channel 71 translator, was built at the Tumamoc Hill site to serve neighborhoods in northwest Tucson that are shaded from Mount Bigelow by terrain.[21] A day before the color conversion, on September 30, 1968, the University of Arizona returned to radio for the first time since the 1920s after receiving the donation of KFIF (1550 AM), which became KUAT (and is now KUAZ), from John Walton. In 1977, construction work began on a satellite dish in a vacant swimming pool south of the Bear Down Gymnasium, allowing the station to receive PBS programming via satellite.[22]

In the 1980s, KUAT upgraded its service to the northwest side. As early as 1982, plans existed to replace K71BQ with a higher-power translator on channel 27.[23] This became reality as K27AT in December 1985.[24] As channel 27 had been designated for noncommercial full-power use, the university filed to build out a full-power facility on channel 27 in 1985; this was completed as KUAS-TV in July 1988.[25] In 1994, KUAT-TV launched the UA Channel, a public access channel featuring university content and lectures.[25]

After the university received a $671,000 grant,[26] the two transmitters were converted to digital in 2002 and 2003, with KUAS-TV on Tumamoc Hill being switched first and becoming the first digital television service in Tucson.[27] [25] The Arizona Public Media umbrella name for KUAT radio and television was adopted in 2009.

Steep budget cuts to higher education in Arizona strongly affected Arizona Public Media's budget during the Great Recession, as 26 percent of it came from the university. Arizona Illustrated, a formerly daily program, converted to being taped three times a week, alongside other cost-cutting measures.[28] After providing $2.6 million in cash to AZPM in the 2013–2014 school year, the University of Arizona planned cuts for 2014–2015 of $400,000 and continued cuts until 2019.[29]

In 2021, the UA announced it was exploring the construction of a new $45 million complex for AZPM south of the campus at The Bridges, home to a UA tech park, having already raised 75 percent of the projected cost without launching a public campaign.[30] The university released renderings of the proposed facility, the Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media, in September 2023.[31]

Local programming

In 1980, KUAT began producing Arizona Illustrated, its flagship weekly newsmagazine on local public affairs issues, at a time when its local program production was seen as minimal outside of Tucson city council meetings.[32] Initially aired daily, it evolved from a features show to a news and analysis program.[33] University students handle most of the production of Arizona Illustrated, providing them with valuable hands-on experience.

No longer produced but still in reruns on some PBS stations is The Desert Speaks, co-produced with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum from 1990 to 2018. It was the successor to a previous program that aired on KVOA and later KOLD-TV, which had been in production since 1953.[34]

In 2007, KUAT produced the documentary Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice, which became the first of the station's productions to air nationally on PBS.[25]

Technical information

Subchannels

The stations' signals carry the same multiplex of subchannels:

Channel! scope = "col" rowspan="2"
Res.AspectShort nameProgramming
6.1 27.1 PBS HD
6.2 27.2 KIDS PBS Kids
6.3 27.3 PBS 6+ PBS 6 Plus- style="background-color:#DFEBF6; border-top: 2px solid #003399;"40.1 40.11 1080i 16.9 Telemundo (KHRR)
40.2 40.22480i 16:9 TeleXitos (KHRR)-->

When KUAT and KUAS first began digital broadcasting, they did not carry all the same subchannels. Initially, four subchannels were broadcast during the day and then closed down to allow the transmission of one high-definition channel.

With the dropping of PBS Kids in 2005, KUAT programmed its own children's channel, KUAT Kids.[35] On 6.3, V-me started broadcasting on November 30, 2007, while .1 and .2 were PBS in high and standard definition.[36] On December 1, 2011, the station's affiliation with Create was dropped for an independent lifestyle channel branded Ready TV.[37] [35]

On October 11, 2016, AZPM began broadcasting the same subchannels from both transmitters. V-me moved to cable only from 6.2, making way for PBS Kids from the Mount Bigelow transmitter, while the UA Channel became an online-only service. ReadyTV and World programming would share the same channel .3, while PBS Kids would be on .2.[38] In 2017, the third subchannel was changed again, this time to a new complementary service known as PBS 6 Plus.[39]

Analog-to-digital transition

While Arizona Public Media had intended to shut off the analog signals of both KUAT-TV and KUAS-TV on June 12, 2009, the national digital transition date, KUAT-TV was removed from analog service 10 weeks earlier than expected on March 31 due to damage to the analog equipment on Mount Bigelow.[40] The stations' digital signals remained on their pre-transition UHF channels 30 and 28, respectively, using virtual channels 6 and 27.[41] The KUAS-TV transmitter was used as part of the SAFER Act to broadcast transition information announcements until July 12.[42]

Notes and References

  1. News: KUAT—That's UA TV Signal. August 30, 1958. 5. Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043540/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105344336/kuatthats-ua-tv-signal/. live.
  2. News: UA Will Make Classroom Out Of Tucson With TV. May 3, 1958. 3. John. Riddick. Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072824/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105374935/ua-will-make-classroom-out-of-tucson/. live.
  3. News: UA Granted Permission To Build Video Station. May 3, 1958. 4B. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072825/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105374252/ua-granted-permission-to-build-video/. live.
  4. News: Young Crew Staffs Young TV Station. April 17, 1959. 1C. June. Caldwell. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043529/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105376401/young-crew-staffs-young-tv-station/. live.
  5. News: University TV Station Approved: FCC Authorizes Channel 6 Use. July 17, 1958. 5A. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072826/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105375715/university-tv-station-approved-fcc/. live.
  6. News: University TV Tower Bids High. September 6, 1958. 10. Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043540/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105344412/university-tv-tower-bids-high/. live.
  7. News: Lang Will Build UA's TV Tower. October 16, 1958. 26. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043519/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105344502/lang-will-build-uas-tv-tower/. live.
  8. News: New Landmark Rises: Video Antenna Is Installed On Campus. November 20, 1958. 1B. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072826/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105344529/new-landmark-rises-video-antenna-is/. live.
  9. News: UA To Put Its New TV Station To Work On Closed Circuit. December 10, 1958. 7C. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043522/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105344578/ua-to-put-its-new-tv-station-to-work-on/. live.
  10. News: University TV Station On The Air. February 6, 1959. 1. Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043524/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105344600/university-tv-station-on-the-air/. live.
  11. News: KUAT TV Takes Air Sunday: Regular Programs Starting Monday. March 5, 1959. 1B. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072828/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105344706/kuat-tv-takes-air-sunday-regular/. live.
  12. News: TV Goes Educational. March 7, 1959. On the Town 16. Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043537/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105376564/tv-goes-educational/. live.
  13. News: KUAT's New, And Thriving, Too.... April 24, 1959. 1C. June. Caldwell. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043539/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377030/kuats-new-and-thriving-too/. live.
  14. News: UA Will Offer Courses Via TV: Subject In Chemistry, Spanish, Art Will Be Taught On Video In Daytime. August 2, 1959. 21. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072829/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105376712/ua-will-offer-courses-via-tv-subject/. live.
  15. News: For 65-Mile Radius: UA Seeks TV Expansion. November 21, 1964. 11. Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377265/for-65-mile-radius-ua-seeks-tv/. live.
  16. News: Proposed UA TV Tower Given Okay. June 14, 1965. 27. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043522/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377420/proposed-ua-tv-tower-given-okay/. live.
  17. News: KUAT Seeks To Move Tower To Mt. Bigelow Location. January 4, 1966. 5A. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043537/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377488/kuat-seeks-to-move-tower-to-mt-bigelow/. live.
  18. News: Coverage Expanded: University's TV To Add Color. June 23, 1966. 1B. Bob. Thomas. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377610/coverage-expanded-universitys-tv-to/. live.
  19. News: Approved By Regents: KUAT Receives Full Color OK. April 9, 1967. 5A. Pete. Cowgill. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043538/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377658/approved-by-regents-kuat-receives-full/. live.
  20. News: Color Broadcast Slated At University Station: First Offering Planned Oct. 1. September 20, 1968. 23. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072831/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377916/color-broadcast-slated-at-university/. live.
  21. News: KUAT Using Channel 71 Translator. February 22, 1968. 18. Tucson Daily Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043519/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105377780/kuat-using-channel-71-translator/. live.
  22. News: Television shows via satellite soon reality for Channel 6. April 6, 1978. 11B. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072832/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105378728/television-shows-via-satellite-soon/. live.
  23. News: KUAT to clear up its signal for hard-to-reach viewers. January 27, 1982. 11B. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072832/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105380862/kuat-to-clear-up-its-signal-for/. live.
  24. News: Northwest Siders: KUAT now on Channel 27. December 13, 1985. 4D. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 11, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220711043538/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105153909/northwest-siders-kuat-now-on-channel-27/. live.
  25. Web site: Celebrating Sixty Years of Service. Arizona Public Media. April 14, 2019. April 14, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190414124528/https://www.azpm.org/sixtyyears/. live.
  26. News: Grant upgrades KUAT towers. October 16, 2001. 1B, 3B. Teya. Vitu. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 12, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072929/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105153976/grant-upgrades-kuat-towers/. live.
  27. News: Digital comes to local TV channels. September 16, 2003. A1, A9. Mary. Vandeveire. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 1, 2022. July 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220701065435/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104743544/digital-comes-to-local-tv-channels/. live.
  28. News: KUAT deals with cuts, focuses on content. April 5, 2009. E6–7. Gerald M.. Gay. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 12, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072930/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105451353/kuat-deals-with-cuts-focuses-on-content/. live.
  29. News: Alaimo. Carol Ann. Public broadcaster faces steep UA funding cut. September 12, 2017. Arizona Daily Star. June 17, 2014. en. September 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044655/http://tucson.com/news/local/education/college/public-broadcaster-faces-steep-ua-funding-cut/article_c2580a42-dc6d-5332-b285-5a6dd5b2ee37.html. live.
  30. News: UA looks to build $45 million facility for Arizona Public Media. Arizona Daily Star. September 9, 2021. Kathryn. Palmer. July 12, 2022. September 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210913140647/https://tucson.com/news/local/ua-looks-to-build-45-million-facility-for-arizona-public-media/article_64d618da-1182-11ec-830b-3bdfb71adff6.html. live.
  31. AZPM Unveils Cutting-Edge Public Media Facility. September 8, 2023. Arizona Public Media. September 26, 2023.
  32. News: KUAT to finally 'illustrate' what's going on in Arizona. August 29, 1980. 8C. Sherry. Stern. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072931/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105419570/kuat-to-finally-illustrate-whats/. live.
  33. News: 'Arizona Illustrated': More news analysis and a new set at Tucson's venue for news junkies. October 7, 1986. 1D, 3D. Dan. Sorenson. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072932/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105419286/arizona-illustrated-more-news/. live.
  34. News: The Desert Speaks: KUAT-TV series celebrates 10 years of broadcasts around the world. February 2, 2000. 1B, 3B. A.J.. Flick. Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 12, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072933/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105451393/the-desert-speaks-kuat-tv-series/. live.
  35. News: Sefton. Dru. Multicasts tailored to local priorities. September 12, 2017. Current. June 11, 2012. September 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091635/https://current.org/2012/06/multicasts-tailored-to-local-priorities/. live.
  36. News: Schuster. John. Media Watch. September 12, 2017. Tucson Weekly. November 29, 2007. July 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180701193909/https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/media-watch/Content?oid=1089736. live.
  37. News: Schuster. John. Media Watch: AZPM Switches Alternate Channel. September 12, 2017. Tucson Weekly. December 1, 2011. September 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091614/https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/media-watch/Content?oid=3189970. live.
  38. Web site: Changes to AZPM Television Channel Lineup. AZPM. September 12, 2017. en. September 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044437/https://tv.azpm.org/s/42060-changes-to-the-azpm-television-channel-lineup/. live.
  39. Web site: Arizona Public Media Launches New 24-Hour Lifestyle Channel. June 30, 2017. Arizona Public Media. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072942/https://about.azpm.org/p/about-press/2017/6/30/113358-arizona-public-media-launches-new-24-hour-lifestyle-channel/. live.
  40. News: KUAT's Channel 6 switching to digital 10 weeks early. March 30, 2009. A15. Jack. Gibson. Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. Newspapers.com. July 11, 2022. July 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072935/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105153878/kuats-channel-6-switching-to-digital/. live.
  41. Web site: May 23, 2006 . DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130829004251/http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf . August 29, 2013 . August 29, 2021 . Federal Communications Commission.
  42. Web site: UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program. Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. June 4, 2012. February 1, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225603/http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-291375A1.pdf. live.

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